Exploring the circumstances under which the perceptions of support need become in/congruent between son caregivers and care managers

2017 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 26780336
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Social welfare and social work studies
• Research Institution: Tokyo Metropolitan Geriatric Hospital and Institute of Gerontology
• Principal Investigator: Hirayama Ryo 地方独立行政法人東京都健康長寿医療センター(東京都健康長寿医療センター研究所), 東京都健康長寿医療センター研究所, 研究員 (10728075)
• Project Period (FY): 2014-04-01 – 2018-03-31
• Keywords: 家族介護 / ジェンダー / ケア専門職

Outline of Final Research Achievements

In this study, I explored what can create a discrepancy between son caregivers and care managers in the perceptions of these sons' support need. In doing so, I conducted in-depth interviews with both son caregivers and care managers, and compared their accounts of whether sons needed to use care services and why. Qualitative analysis revealed that such a discrepancy might result from differences between son caregivers and care managers in assumptions about who should be the major "beneficiary" of care services. Sons tended to assume that such services were intended to reduce care burden on families; thus, when they perceived little burden and/or when they needed no one to share burden, they did not become motivated to use services. By contrast, care managers thought of such services as resources to preserve older adults' quality of life; thus, when the quality of life of aging parents could be threatened, they found a need for services regardless of sons' perceptions of service need.

Free Research Field

社会学